#but the concept of it is not the same as her being lead singer when musa is right there

[starlooove]

Never gonna forgive season 1-3 bloom haters

[lxmelle]

Gojo was once described by Gege as a “man of resignation”.

It is a facet of enlightenment - in which the concept of “non-attachment” is a big part of (attachment is viewed as the root of suffering).

We can interpret “resignation” in so many ways, as it explains so much about his immense capacity for love / acceptance, but also his tendency to... simply resign himself to an outcome / fate I guess - a form of passivity that can be either considered positive or negative, perhaps depending on outcome.

Going with the flow, neither chasing nor halting anything in particular with his immense might and potential. He swayed things to gently influence an outcome. Followed a designated path trying to rebuild the sorcerer world through being a teacher... which he couldn’t fully commit too either, because he had a role as a special grade who had to keep working.

That’s not to say he didn’t achieve anything - because of course he did. But nothing revolutionary. He said so himself to Geto: he didn’t see a point in it. There were just some things he didn’t think would change - someone else would replace the higher-ups.

And thus. Despite his massive strength, he never did ever manage to go all out. Perhaps this is symbolic of an inherently gentle/accepting nature? But there was indeed a monster inside him too - the one that thrived on the thrill of killing and defeating. It was a beast he seldom let out. It was a beast with a thirst.

I’ve said it before, and I’ll paraphrase: like a sprinter limited to go at 8kmph, like a singer who is only allowed to whisper her song, a painter unable to use any paints for their desired masterpiece - how dreadfully, painfully unfulfilling.

So of course it was FUN to have this final brawl with Sukuna - to give it his very best, especially when he also didn’t feel lonely anymore with a bunch of monsters he can pass the gauntlet (his body and his will) onto in the worst case scenario.

But of course Gojo doesn’t have the ability to predict the future, so how can anyone expect that he make decisions and judgements perfectly or accurately? All he can do is consider based on his own judgement. Alone. As the only other person who help him plug those holes in his judgement, Geto, had left him.

It is up to interpretation whether Geto was left behind first, but this really isn’t a competition or about assigning blame… because where do we even start?

One cannot hold Gojo totally accountable for things that happen around him or how others interpret his actions. He was born different to everyone else. Probably treated as if he had this role to fill where people had an idea of what they wanted or needed him to be, but never gave much thought over what it would feel like for him.

Gojo, Shoko, and those left behind have had to suffer the same resignation. After all: What else are you supposed to do but resign yourself, in the face of a reality where even to things you don’t wish to happen, have to happen? All you can do is what you can... and if you can, you wield it with all your might.

Geto tried it to the best of his ability.

He wasn’t Gojo, who could do it if he wanted to.

Understanding that Gojo wasn’t, and accepting that he (Geto) shouldn’t change that about him (Gojo), as he was likely more suited to be at the school - essentially following nanami’s words and “leaving it to him” as Gojo was in his element / thrived on it, but Geto couldn’t be complicit in the system that would lead them to watch their own kind die one by one — Geto left to follow his ideals.

Gojo was referred to as the only one who can take that curse into his own hands. I used to see it as “the only one to kill Geto” after he failed and almost lost his humanity for the sake of power (killing Yuta would go against his principles) but now it also has a new meaning: the only one who can take charge and pursue the ideals to actually change the world.

The curse is the sh*t that is in the world of sorcery in jjk. Gojo seemed to (imho) now feel the need to catch up and hold the reins this time.

It is the end of Resignation Man Gojo Satoru. The emergence of The Monster Gojo Satoru (who Geto assisted in helping Gojo keep at bay through being the “model of humanity” that Gojo could follow) who was then fully ready to take the stand. Like Geto on that stage.

Bye higher ups.

Before, despite his immense strength, he didn’t force his way through. Perhaps this was the outcome of having been forced to be born and live with no choice but to be the six eyes + limitless. You do not actually have freedom.

Unless, you’re willing to become a pariah. To wield these cards that were dealt to you and completely become the extraordinary.

And now, Yuta embraces the same resigned acceptance of becoming a monster. After all... only a few will be able and willing to turn into a Monster.

Out of love. A Monstrous love indeed.

Geto had monstrous motherhood in him. I guess this extends to others now too. To cast away humanity because nobody else will. Nobody else can. So they have to wield it. Become it.

Yuta represents both the old and new world... in some way, he is like Gojo and Geto combined... power / strength + sincerity / kindness. Of course, like the yin and yang, each half has a bit of the other in it - so Gojo and Geto had a combination of power and compassion, but they symbolically represent each,

Arguably, had Geto someone else by his side, things may have been different.

All of this mess… ugh.

It didn’t have to come to this, right? Nor did it have to be the extermination of humans, but it could’ve been a collaboration of the special grades (Yuki, Gojo, Geto) all trying to solve the 3 different factors to the problem: humans as the origin of curses (research), the old-fashioned higher ups + clans, and the elimination of the curses. There may be others, but you get my gist.

But alas, this is the jjk world.

Just some thoughts, I’ll end it here before it’s more word vom.

[lieutenantfloyd]

So I know it’s just a joke….but I’m kinda living for the Alonso/Taylor thing that’s happening right now. How hilarious would it be for Taylor(YN) to lean into it??? We know that Lewis is kinda a Swiftie or a least would run in similar circles; she reaches out and is like can I send flowers to congratulate him for P3 in Aus, since they’re “dating” just as an unhinged joke. And then it turns into Alonso jokingly inviting her to a race (we know he’s been on a SM run lately) and it just turns from a joke into a not joke. And Fans have no clue when that is b/c they still think it’s just a bit😂

⁑ So It Goes — Fernando Alonso ⁑

Celebrity AU (social media AU + oneshot)

Pairing: Fernando Alonso x famous!reader (Taylor Swift face claim)

Summary: A pop singer's world tour, a month-long break in the f1 season, and two fanbase's engaging in some harmless trolling lead to one of the most unexpected meet-cutes the internet has ever seen.

notes: i don’t know what’s been wilder; watching F1 fans breach containment in real time or getting the notification for this ask while thinking about this exact concept. Either way, thank you anon for this ask! Please enjoy the most unhinged thing I’ve ever had the pleasure of creating.

popgossip's story

Of all the things to be trending for today, this was by far the strangest. In your line of work, rumors spread like wildfire. However: Rumors, especially of the dating variety, were typically between yourself and someone who you were photographed or with who mentioned you in an interview. Being rumored to date a man who you barely even knew existed? Well that was new. Luckily, after being in the same social circles for years, you were able to call a rival driver of your alleged BF one of your closest friends.

Two days after your conversation with Lewis, you sat at your dining room table filing out the card. Writing a short message filled with congratulations and well wishes before signing your initials and setting the card aside. Before your judgement got the best of you, you opened the card again and scrawl your phone number in small letters across the bottom. You knew the chances of him contacting you personally were slim to none, but you wanted to extend the invitation.

Fernandoalo_oficial's story

Tonight was yet another performance in yet another city. Your driver dropped you off at your hotel and you made your way up to your suite. Still buzzing from the energy of a stadium full of fans, you weren't particularly sleepy but your body was exhausted. Somehow you willed yourself to take a quick shower before collapsing into bed. Wet hair and all. You pulled out your phone and clicked on the messaging app. Selecting the all messages tab, you began responding to the slew of messages congratulating you on another stellar performance. After 20 or so threads, you made it to the messages you had received earlier in your very busy week. Humming softly, you opened another one and automatically clicked on the keyboard before glancing back up towards the top of the screen.

It was kind and simple, but you couldn't help but smile as your eyes scanned over his words. Because most nights you were either traveling or performing, the outlandish rumor only made its way into your mind when you checked your mentions and saw that you were still being tagged in a fair share of related memes. You paused and mulled over your response. Typing and deleting over and over until you sent back a similar pleasantry to his. Closing the app, you locked your phone and let it drop down onto the bed beside you. Even if your conversation stayed like this, you were still a bit excited to get a response from him. You didn't know where Fernando currently was in the world, but you could only assume you were in different timezones.

As the next weeks came and went, your correspondence with Fernando had shifted from mostly uninvolved to warm and friendly. You learned that not only did you both find your situation absolutely hilarious, but you had a surprising amount of commonality. Including your sense of humor and a shared love of cats.

You and him had began to talk more and more. In between tour rehearsals one day, Fernando messaged you inviting you to the next race. You thanked him before joking about people's reaction if you were able to attend. Making a mental note to inquire about your schedule with your team.

Aside from the low drone coming from the drivers walkie talkie, the car was silent. Leaning your head against the window, you watched the clouds pass by from behind your tinted sunglasses. It not only a warm and sunny Sunday, but it was a rare day off for you. Soon, the car had slowed to a stop. Only moments later the door opened. Revealing your smiling agent, standing next to what you assumed was some kind of F1 press officer. You let the pair lead you towards the Aston Martin garage, followed distantly by your usual security guards. Stopping on occasional to take a selfie with your adoring fans. The further you walked, the more you felt the countless eyes on you. The one aspect of fame you could never quite accept: the near constant stares. Thankfully, as you entered the emerald green marked garage, you felt the stares fall away. Celebrities were no oddity in these areas.

yourusername

liked by Fernandoalo_oficial and 3,3194,031 others

yourusername: A day to remember 💚

tagged: @ astonmartinf1 & @ fernandoalo_oficial

view 24,693 comments

betty31: HELP

user13: There's simply no way😭

forsainz4: THE RUMORS ??? ARE TRUE???

After the Grand Prix and a celebratory dinner with your new 2nd favorite driver, you once again set off to finish your tour. Despite almost always being on opposite sides of the world, you and Fernando never lost contact. In fact, you grew closer and closer. Your fanbase’s both catching on to your unusual friendship. By the time your tour was over, it was time to start writing and recording your next album. An album which, whether directly or indirectly, Fernando had plenty of influence on. Always busy, and endlessly tiring. But I wouldn’t trade it for the world, you both concurred dramatically over facetime. Late one night for him, mid day for you. It was on another one of those facetime calls that you finally spoke the thoughts that were beginning to weight heavy on both of your chests. An unspoken comradere, among many other things, had formed between you. It wasn’t long before you were mapping out what little spare time you had so you could spend it together in person. Neither one of you wanted to force anything, instead just letting whatever felt right to happen. Following the surprise release of your now completed album, you joined Fernando for a much needed period of rest and relaxation. And maybe it was the sun, the sand, or the fact you were a little wine drunk, but you were in the mood to cause a bit of drama.

yourusername

liked by fernandoalo_oficial and 14,996,831 others

yourusername i'm starting to think it might not be a joke anymore

view 46,002 comments

yktsunoda: HOLY SHIT??

user64: IM LOSING MY MIND

fernandoalo_oficial El Plan ✅😎

lavender11: y/n please come get your man😭

user98: this is the most ambitious crossover event in history

[jinnie-ret]

<---------- back to my youth

<---------- back to main masterlist

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profile

in real life

Name: Louisa Flora Fenby

Nicknames: lou, flo, lisa, bee

Birthday: 28/06/2003

Birthplace: Rochdale, England

Nationality: english-filipino

Languages: English (fluent), Tagalog (some), Korean (learning)

Family: mum, dad, younger brother, pet cat

Height: 5'5

Personality traits: bubbly, trusting, thoughtful, imaginative, sensitive, defensive, naive

Hobbies: singing, producing, crochet, upcycling clothes

Faceclaim: beabadoobee

Likes: stray kids, kpop, sunny weather, giving gifts to people, cooking, dark chocolate (her fav), gherkins in her burger, green (fav colour), late night walks, long baths, cats

Dislikes: confrontation, brussel sprouts, sparkling water, moths, snakes, socks on in bed, big crowds

idol life

Stage name: sunny

Nicknames: sun, sunshine, flower, aegi sun

After hearing Louisa's full name and learning her middle name was 'Flora', the members soon understood that it was linked to flowers. Due to her bright personality she was compared to a sunflower, thus creating the nickname Sunny.

Fans gave the nickname 'aegi sun' to Louisa after partnering her with Felix as the sunshine duo. Being the younger one she is naturally babied.

Positions: lead singer, sub dancer, producer

Lou is not as confident in her dancing skills but is working on them as much as she can, she still enjoys doing it though. Her voice shines through as a softer time that can break through and stand out in Stray Kids' often fiercer songs. This doesn't mean that all the songs she produces are all sweeter, her own music that she creates follows this pattern but she loves to engage in helping 3RACHA experiment in louder bombastic sounds.

Aesthetic: bubblegrunge

Debut Date: March 25th 2017

Company: JYP

Training Period: 2 years

Habits: making random noises, hair flips, randomly singing, stumbling on her words, biting her thumb, full body laughs, tapping her hands to music, zoning out

Known for/as:

Pinky gap

Sunny has a gap between her pinkies that is visible when she presses her hands together. This is because both of them curve outwards. Fans were the first ones to notice and ever since it's been seen as another endearing quality of the girl.

Minsung's daughter

When you see Sunny you'll not see Lee Know or Jisung too far behind. Often in lives she's been spotted leaning against one of them or even falling asleep on them sometimes. They care a lot for the girl and their almost parental roles towards her only solidified the ship of Minsung more.

Sunshine duo

One of her most noticeable features is the freckles that are very visible on her face. Naturally she is partnered with Felix for sharing the same quality, as well as their bright personas.

Bright smile

Sunny's smile is one of her most charming points that both fans and members love. There are moments where people have commented on it because of how it entrances them, such as on Kingdom, Music Bank, and in music videos too.

Producer mode

During solo lives or behind the album videos, when Sunny goes into producer mode, you'll know. She doesn't become strict or lost in her own mind, but instead she is exciteable and tries out lots of different sounds, melodies or lyrics to fit the concept she is creating. These ideas that she comes up with bounce off of members and can be the foundations of some of Stray Kids' most successful songs. On lives fans watch in awe at how her brain is able to come up with such cool sounds and merge them together.

Trying tiktok dances

As said before, Sunny isn't the most confident in her dancing, but that doesn't stop her from trying different tiktok dances and impulsively posting them - she knows stays will love them either way. She likes trying new kpop dances or ones that are viral too. The video she did dancing to Blackpink's Shutdown is her most recent video she posted on the group account, and it caught a lot of attention.

Soft voice

Sunny has a voice that people love and can't stop listening too. She is quite soft spoken, but that doesn't stop people from absorbing every word. Being in a group as loud as Stray Kids, she still manages to make herself heard, especially when it's random statements or jokes that she's sharing.

Random statements

"Bang Chan tried to crowdsurf and then he fell but he got stuck because his ass is too fat."

"Sunny?! What?!"

"I should shut up now."

'British Queen'

Sunny comes from a town in Manchester, her Northern accent only making her more charming to her fans. And of course with one of her 'dads' being Han, the British comments from stays were at an all time high in moments he adopted the same accent.

'he's learning from his daughter'

'Sunny's accent is rubbing off on Han ahahaha'

'since when was aegi sun teaching her parents how to speak british??'

'Comedy Queen'

Even her energetic moods were enough to get the members into a fit of giggles, let alone the strange noises she'd make or her random one liners.

"Bleurrgh"

"Sunny we don't know how to translate that one."

~

"Sweet home Alabama..."

"Sunny sssshhhhh"

The members definitely loved their sun a lot, and she always managed to surprise them whether it was with her talent, her humour or with little gifts she'd make them too.

•••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

tagged: @skz-streamer @kiraisastay @hannahhbahng @kpopmenace143 @sakufilms @kai-lee08 @arloo00 @dunno-wut-to-do @splat00z @cheesemonky @his-angell @turtledove824 @2minstan @royal-shinigami @yangbbokari

[boarwinds]

What can you tell us about the Snowbaird kids in your First Lady AU?

Glad u asked.

So everything that happens in the movie happens except coryo doesn't say "3 is enough for me" until after they've reached the cabin where they've just unknowing conceived their twins. He says this while they're both lying in bed n that's where that whole "who's the third" conversation happens. Coryo hunts her n she escapes w a non lethal bullet wound that def leaves a scar.

CS goes back to the capitol n goes on to be president at age 23. LG gets pretty far n struggles to survive on fruits, nuts, etc,, she's definitely not a hunter. It makes sense her period doesn't come as she hasn't been eating, sleeping, basically living right but what makes her sneak back to 12 is her growing stomach. She connects the dots. The covey help set her up at the cabin or somewhere only the covey know bc the mayor is still looking for her. She gives birth to twins, first a girl then a boy which came as a surprise. Theyre both tiny w the boy even more so but they make it.

I'm gonna headcanon one of the covey knowing how to hunt n they teach the kids when they're little, LG also learns. Think of the 2 kids from wolf children, that's how her kids are. Theyre so curious abt district 12 n wanna see where their aunts n uncles leave off to but they also follow their mom's orders like it's gospel so they never venture too far except for one time they try to hunt a small boar to bring back to LG. Obv shit goes awry, girl twin gets a head injury from protecting her brother which leaves a scar n boy twin is crying in hysterics. They rush to 12 to get help n this is what leads to LG's capture.

So as for their personalities:

Girl twin: imagine coriolanus if he was raised district w just his loving mother. Will commit all types of wrong for the right thing. Let's just say if it weren't for LG being her moral compass she has potential to be worse than CS. Like her brother she inherited her mother's natural charisma n charm but she can be like her father n use it for manipulative purposes. She's fiercely protective of LG n her little siblings, v much a katniss type. Shes quiet n observant, more introverted. Unlike her parents she doesn't have much interest in pretty things, for her practicality over everything. Both LG n CS want to spoil her w pretty gowns, accessories, makeup, whatever she wants but she dresses plainly (if thats possible w aunty tigris designing all her clothes) most of the time. It doesn't hide her beauty, she's gorgeous the same way her father is.

Her relationship w her father is strained. She knows he did smth to hurt her mother, she's never seen LG be so cold to anyone no matter how civil she tries to be, she's immediately weary. CS sees her scar n offers to have it removed but LG always talked abt how scars told stories n hers would tell of her bravery n love for her brother so she's offended by his offer. She hates how she can't deny her parentage LMAO she may as well have been asexually reproduced by him.

Boy twin: LG if she reincarnated in a physical copy of CS. Is ambitious about becoming a beloved singer songwriter the way CS was ambitious abt becoming president. He's a bit more sheltered bc his sister n LG babied him but he's absolutely not a doormat, hes the type to gracefully disrespect u n u wont realize until ur overthinking in the shower. However if u disrespect his family, hes not afraid to serve up a little rat poison flavored drink. He'll have ppl eating out the palm of his hands n it won't even be on purpose. He's the extroverted twin who can win anyone over. LOVES luxury. Prob the one most transformed by living in the capitol but, his sweet boy personality may or may not be a persona. He sees w rose tinted glasses more than his sister so he ADORES his father at first meeting. The concept of a father is new to him n he's only his father's son, he loves having new fancy things.

3rd baby: 3rd girl is not exactly planned but not unplanned either. She's born in the capitol. Twin girl's current favorite sibling bc it's a baby n a girl. Also twin boy's current favorite sibling bc shiny new baby. LG's biggest baby so far. CS gets to name her bc LG got to name the first 2 (like she had a choice after being hunted down by him 🤡) who have covey names. He'll give her a v capitol name, had she been a boy she would've been Crassus. Haven't thought further abt her personality, for now she's just a baby.

X number of siblings in between: N/A for now

Final baby: takes after LG the most. Brown eyes, brown hair. Everybody's favorite, everybody's baby. They'd all individually burn down the capitol themselves for the final baby.

[maxiemumdamage]

I realize I’m over ten years late to the bandwagon on SMASH, and that most fans of it probably aren’t on tumblr regardless, but what is this hellsite for if not screaming opinions into the void?

Anyway: assuming the producers were set in their casting choices, it would’ve made way more sense to have Megan Hilty and Katherine McPhee’s characters inverted.

See, the whole conflict between Karen and Ivy doesn’t really work because if you know Broadway — which is the stage they’re competing on — Ivy is better in every conceivable way. She is the better singer, she is the better dancer, she is the better actor and she is the more experienced employee. So, when we’re told Ivy and Karen are equals in contention for the same thing, that Karen could conceivably be cast in a leading role with zero experience, it feels…ridiculous, and frankly like an insult to the audience’s intelligence.

(To be clear, I don’t think Katherine McPhee is a BAD singer, she’s just…ill-suited for Broadway ballads and numbers. She’s good at pop songs, which is presumably why they were included in the show despite often feeling out of place. But in-universe they are trying to cast for a Broadway musical — obviously the person who’s better at Broadway style would be picked in that situation.)

(They try to convince the audience it’s because Karen has “it” while Ivy doesn’t, but it utterly fails, because Megan Hilty is fantastically talented and steals every scene, crushes every number, and is easier to work with to boot.)

(I fear that in SMASH’s efforts to include “stars” of various backgrounds — Broadway was the obvious target demographic for the show, but then they brought in American Idol fans by casting McPhee right after she won it — it instead created a weird Frankenmonster of music and choreography styles and writing choices that didn’t please any of the people it was made for. Casting the net too wide made it feel confused and erratic. Like Bombshell in universe, the concept and talent was there, but it fumbled the execution.)

But there’s an easy way to make it work — switch their backgrounds. Make Karen the experienced Broadway star who’s only worked in the chorus, and Ivy the shiny new up-and-comer.

(Nobody try and bring up age as a gotcha — McPhee and Hilty are only a few years apart.)

Karen might not be great at belting, but if you let her primarily have been a background singer and dancer, then the character’s strengths align with those of the actress. And if you really want an excuse for why Karen is in contention for a leading role, giving her Ivy’s family background could justify it — as the daughter of a successful and famous actress, Karen then has the clout and connections and could therefore bring in the investors the show needs. Karen’s talent aren’t at odds with her position if you make her position that of a girl raised in showbusiness, a nepobaby trying to follow in mommy’s footsteps, familiar with the industry and performing in it but not a star.

This way, Karen being accommodated and praised despite her comparative lack of talent makes sense — she’s a safer choice than a relative unknown, and brings in a family connection who can help buoy the show in its early stages.

Meanwhile, Megan Hilty’s character, Ivy, can be someone who’s got the talent, but lacks a background or the experience to really draw a crowd or make her easy to work with. Her friendship with Tom can remain, he could just be a personal acquaintance, rather than a work one that turned into a close friendship over time. Maybe Ivy still recorded the demo track that got attention for Bombshell in the first place, just as a personal favor to Tom, and then finds that hey, she really does like doing this and wants to seriously work on Broadway.

Because Ivy is Marilyn, not Karen. It makes more sense for her to be the young up-and- comer who gets too famous too fast, rather than a veteran overlooked for a younger talent.

[alpaca-clouds]

Orpheus and the Katabasis

Another topic for mythologic geekery. Let me today talk about a topic that folks within comparative mythology actually do not really quite agree on. Orpheus and the Katabasis.

As you may know: Orpheus is not a god. He is a dude. At times a half-god, to be fair (though speaking from the perspective of Greek mythology: Who isn't really?) Actually, to be very exact for the Stray Gods fans: In some versions of the mythology he is in fact the son of Calliope and a mortal man. But given that he was actually no god and thus not venerated the basis for the story of Orpheus and Eurydice did not change that much. Within the versions we have records of the basic outline of the story shifts. Again, in some Orpheus is a half-god. In some the nature of Eurydice shifts, too. But it always is: "Orpheus is a musician who finds his muse in Eurydice. Eurydice dies. Orpheus goes to the underworld to reclaim her. He does some music. Hades likes it and lets her go. But Orpheus cannot turn around. He does. Eurydice gone. Orpheus sad." Often the myth even ends there, never explaining what becomes of Orpheus after failing.

Something that makes this myth so fascinating to me is the discussion of it was part of the Katabasis. A "trope" shall we say within comparative mythology.

I think, in fact, that this was one of the first myths where I as a kid had the "Oh, this is actually like very similar" moment. Because I read another myth and was like: "Hey, that is like with the Greek singer dude! But how can that be? They are so far apart?!"

And the myth in question is Izanagi and Izanami in the Japanese mythology. A myth that involves many of the same tropes we know from both Hades and Persephone and Orpheus and Eurydice. Woman dies. Man goes down. She cannot return to the living. Either because she has consumed part of the underworld. Or because he turns around.

And when I first read that myth with like 12 years I was like: "Huh?!"

Here is the thing why this is a topic that folks will argue about a lot in Comparative Mythology. There is the idea of the Katabasis. Aka, that one of those myths - some go even as far as speculating whether it is like even pre-proto-indo-european - that shows up again and again. Not quite as similar as it is when we compare Izanagi and Orpheus, but still the same idea.

The idea being that: Someone goes to hell/the underworld for a quest. This quest usually involves either rescuing a loved one (though this does not need to be romantic, it might also involve family members or dear friends) or obtaining knowledge of some sort (like the knowledge how to make fire). Some tropes show up again and again within that. Like loosing the ability of returning due to consuming something. Or the god/ruler of the underworld testing the respective hero, often resulting on the short term or long term death of said hero.

Now, would it show up only in myths of the Indu-European family and in a lot of them, this would not get argued about. But it doesn't. It also shows up in Pacifica mythology, in South American mytholgy and Eastern African mythology. Meanwhile it does not show up in all the myths or in some is argued whether this really is comparative (like Ra's journey through the underworld or the liberation of Ushas).

Which basically leads to two different interpretations:

This is a concept that has been around since the days of very early humans, leading the myth to be kinda passed along and adapted throughout the world.

Most humans do in fact burry their dead, making the idea of an underworld as a world of the dead very logical - and it is just a human need and want to either get a loved one back or optain knowledge. For the later it could be argued that the believe of someone who died and came back having mythic knowledge being kinda logical, given that death is the one thing we still know surprisingly little about.

Obviously I do not know the answer to which of those things is the real answer.

But I find it endlessly fascinating.

Also... just the amount of adaptions of Orpheus specifically is super interesting as well. xD

[minquiec]

jipunk things I've been thinking about but I couldn't illustrate for a variety of reasons

streamer au -> minecraft?? au

idk this is rlly more of a crack au cause it's so unserious but I think I mentioned this some while ago but I forgor to add anything else onto it

the general idea is they're both streamers ahhayhah on a totally and definitely original streaming site called Switch hahaha so original hahaha

The both of them aren't overly popular but they have some form of reputation to their name cause for jia some of her stupid clips have gone viral (she does mostly gamer content 🎮💪🔥) where it's either her being real bad at the game or she's getting jumpscared and for hobie his content is a lot moreeee diverse I think, and he also streams a lot less than jia does cause it's just a side thing for him but some of his clips have gone viral for either music related reasons or it's something he's said (HES FUNNY IN A WAY YOU WOULDNT EXPECT KIND OF THING)

but I had this thought where it'd be kind of funny when he's streaming one day (one night tbh they both stream more at night) but he'd be on stream maybe playing his lil guitar and people just casually talking in the chat and suddenly they see the user 'oranjia' send a 'ALSMFNKS' and 'OWJDNJW' in the chat so ofc people who recognise her are all like ARIANA WHAT ARE U DOING HEREE and she gets clipped cause they're kind of two different streamers you'd never see interact

Idrk what happens next cause I haven't thought abt it but they'd probably suddenly have streams featuring the other and mostly gaming cause 🧍‍♂️how else do you collab stream idk

and then I kinda segwayed from this idea to fuckin,,,, MINECRAFT AU 💀💀💀 I DONT WANNA TALK ABT THE VERY OBVIOUS INSPIRATIONS FOR THIS (yes I used to be into them but not anymore for INCREDIBLY OBVIOUS reasons) but I've always loved the concept behind it cause you can't lie the LORE AND FANART BEHIND IT WAS SO FUN

their kid.

as if I couldn't hit a new low, I stun myself EVERYTIME 🔥 but. I've been thinking. A little too hard admittedly but I can't help it okay I'm just a girl 😞 but this is all a hypothetical cause I don't have an au where they're,,,able to have a KIDNDNEJDNENSNWS AUEGH ANYWAYS IF THEY DID I think her name would be clementine :3333 cause I think the name is really cute and for some reason i kept coming up w nicknames for her and I couldn't choose one so they all apply; clem, tina (clementine -> tine -> tina), nana

but I think she'd be so sweet :((( cause she'd be so well loved :(((((( cause both of them like kids ASHEHDH HB BEING A GIRL DAD IS DRIVIJG ME A LITTLE CRAZY ACTUALLY tbh he'd be okay w anything being gorl dad,,,,,, ueueueueueu m

chinatown singer au

I was thinking abt the lore abt this au it's kinda vague and I also forgot if I ever shared it but the idea was like the setting is a? chinatown somewhere in the middle of,,,,? The britland??? But also not at the same time cause idk the geography and history of England so I'm making shit up and making it MY version of England /jkjkjk but the idea is it's a chinatown

But I was thinking maybe like when he was a kid, he had gotten lost within the chinatown cos he randomly wandered in and it was getting dark and oh nooo I'm lost 😨😨 but wowww he bumps into this girl around his ageeee WONDER WHOOO

but she leads him out there and it's mostly jus them being sweet kids but they then don't see each other for a couple years cause 🤷 but jia grows up to be a singer in this theatre hall and hb ends up working??? Participating??? Idk he's involved with this newspaper company that's basically just. The spider society but in newspaper company form

And so one day he'd probably take a route thru the chinatown and spot her again in the big ass billboard and tbh idfk what happens next cause it's mostly just one sided pining bc he doesn't get to meet her for a good while till he bumps into her again 🤷🤷❓❓❓

sticking them into your name scene

i can't explain the emotional MAGNITUDE your name had on me and it's so funny cause at first i was like "can't be that good 😐" and then 1h 42 mins later im actually devastated but anyways

This is major spoilers for your name so just lyk

But there's this scene where the ml and fl meet up and they're about to write their names on each others palms but they're only able to see each other because of the twilight that was occurring in that moment (they're from different timelines if y'all don't know) but as the girl is abt to write her name on the guys hand THE TWILIGHT ENDS AND SHE DISAPPEARS AAUUEGHHH AND THE SCENE WAS SOOO GOOD CAUSE THE MUSIC WAS SUDDENLY CUT OFF AND ALL NOISE WAS CUT OFF EXCEPT FOR THE PEN HITTING THE GROUND THIS IS YOUR HOMEWORK GO GO FUCKING WSTCH YOUR NAME

But I was just thinking and it'd just fit them SO GOOD but I just rlly like your name and I like angst and I like jipunk so

behind the scenes au

GODDDD ACTOR AUUUUUHUHHHUHUHUHU OKAY I DONT ACTUALLY KNOW HOW JIA WOULD CANONICALLY FIT?? INTO THE MOVIE?? But if she did she would just be a side character tbh (get as much screen time as pav did LMAO)

But I love actor au so much cause it means the sad parts aren't real!! What do you mean they aren't all friends HUHH but anyways imagine bloopers or just the cast being sillay uahehehe

There would b a silly moment where (if the actor au was based off jia's lore) she'd have a little 'mr stark I don feel so good' moment and reference it and it would look real silly cause she has all these green screen parts on her AUSUUA

And also I thought abt this interview where the interviewer asks gwen abt jia and hb AKDNSM AND SHE JUST GOES "they are as insufferable as they are in the show" cause she's so sick of pda HWHDHW but i wanna draw this so bad :(( i love actor au

ballet and band player au

I had this idea literally MONTHS ago but it's rlly short and I haven't gotten around to making art or lore abt it but the premise is gwen does both ballet classes and in a band (hb's band el oh el) but jia is in gwens class and they are friends :333cc and so gwen would always mention jia to hb during practice so he's like nice 👍 glad you have a friend CAUSE HE APPRECIATES PEOPLE WHO ARE NICE TO HIS FRIENDS OKAY but maybe maybe maybe one day he picks gwen up and then THEY HAVE A MEET CUTE AUYUEYGGGEHHHE AND SO NOW HB ALWAHS COMES TO PICK GWENNY UP CAUSE HES JWNDNWNSNSSJ

maybe I should get myself checked out at a psych ward idk it's really unhealthy for me but do I care nno

[princesscolumbia]

Code of Ethics - Chapter 29 - Firebird

For the first time in nearly 2 months I'm simul-releasing CoE's newest chapter to both Scribble Hub and Patreon. It's not really any special event, it just happens that I ran out of buffer on SH due to my hand injury.

Diane's investigation continues leading to a startling encounter that will leave her questioning so very many of her assumptions.

Preview below the cut:

The next server wasn’t on Geoffry’s file list, likely because Rachel had started masking her presence on the ‘net and the diversion probably sent Diane’s poor analyst off on a wild goose chase. Thanks to the credits’ history she’d obtained from Tony, she was doing the next leg of investigation fresh and free of anyone’s pre-conceptions. Regardless of how effective he was otherwise, he wasn’t an agent and didn’t have the contacts that Diane had...like Tony.

When the new log file loaded into the holo-suite, she was somewhat surprised to discover Rachel was not in the company of Recruiter, Foxfire, or anyone else notable. She was, in fact, running a bar.

Though ‘running’ it would be a bit of a misnomer, as the actual bartender was sitting at the end of the bar and smilingly offering tips and suggestions as Rachel worked.

The bar, itself, was a 1990s retro ristobar, one that had a stage setup off to the side large enough to accommodate a live house band that was playing some music that Diane felt herself nodding her head along with, even if it wasn’t her usual preferred genre. Even over a century later, the sound from this era was still known as ‘80s pop’ and had a distinct flavor that found its origins during a time that America was one of two undisputed superpowers on the planet, and around the period this bar would have been active in the other superpower was about to topple. For about a half-century the pre-Republic country would spread its influence as the dominant political mover on the world stage before the forces of Modern Babylon would finally turn against the country as The Second took his place as the leader of the free world.

The band itself was an energetic group, a spitfire of a redhead on vocals, two back-up singers, and the usual turn-of-the-21st-century ensemble of a guitarist, drummer, bass player, and a guy on synth. They were, apparently, something of a big deal given the pictures posted on the walls, band posters, and merchandise displays all about the bar, not to mention the line of people all waiting to get in but being metered by the wait staff. Said line was visible through the glass double doors emblazoned with a logo of some sort of stylized bird blended with flames. Her positive identification of Foxfire in the previous two log files had her mind stuck on ‘fire’ and she couldn’t think of any band in the entirety of her library with their specific composition and the word ‘fire’ in the name. The name of the band being printed on the big bass drum and all the merch didn’t actually help in this case, as save for the part that was in just stylized enough English lettering to know that it was English but be otherwise illegible to her, the rest of the name was in Japanese.

As was all the text in the bar, and further frustrating her attempts to identify the band, they were singing a song that she didn’t recognize, something about “a demon in your radio,” which likely would have made this one of the first bands to be banned from the Republic after the initial pre-war reformations The Second would have made to American culture.

The setting seemed to be telling a story, and it centered on the interaction between the wait staff and the band. Maybe it was her increased exposure to same sex relationships via her station and the whole Morvuck race, but she spotted some subtle interaction between one of the waitresses and the lead singer. There was also something similar going on between a woman in the VIP section and the lead guitarist, but where that was a smoldering campfire, whatever was happening between the lead singer and the waitress was hot enough to burn even from a distance.

What is it with fire being on my mind right now?

Shaking her head and making a mental note to try and track down this holo-environment again later and turned her attention back to the subject of her investigation.

“Wow,” said Rachel as she smiled broadly, enraptured at the live performance, “They’re really good!”

The woman sitting comfortably on a barstool as if she was raised on it chuckled, “I still can’t believe you never heard of them before showing up on our doorstep.”

Rachel blushed, “Well, I mean, I’m not from around here. I’m from a little truck stop in Wyoming, we don’t get many Japanese albums there.”

The conversation paused as a patron gave Rachel about half his attention in placing an order for a gin and tonic. As Rachel moved to fill the order, the woman tutoring her in the art of bar-tending said, “Well, we are known for taking in lost little birds.” The subtle nod to the woman singing was a hint at the story going on in the setting, confirming for Diane that this was some sort of visual novel.

Rachel’s smile faded, “Are you...sure it’s okay for me to be here? I don’t want to get you in trouble...”

The woman smiled, “Well, not going to lie, you stick out like a sore thumb here.” Indeed, the only person who looked more out of place in the building was Diane. Everyone else, from the bartender to the singers to the waitresses to the clientele, with the sole exception of one member of the band, was Japanese. Rachel stood out even further in her 1950s style diner waitress outfit. “But I can’t let a girl wander around basically homeless.”

Rachel handed the man his drink and he wandered away, so focused on the music that he seemed unaware that the girl serving his drink technically shouldn’t be able to speak his language so fluently. “But still, I’ve heard...” she glanced up through the window and over to the door to the back of house as though making sure nobody was approaching that might pose a danger, “I’ve heard about The Reaper and the agency. If they caught me here...”

The bartender shook her head, “They won’t. They almost never come into one of these things,” she waved her hand expansively, indicating far more than just the bar they were in, “And even if they did, they stand out like a sore thumb, we’ll get you out of sight.”

“Yui,” said Rachel softly, finally identifying the other woman, “I can’t let you risk yourself like that for me. I’ve got a server right now, I can stay there during the day and come here after closing to learn how to tend bar at night.”

Yui shook her head with a smile, “Kiddo, you need to rest. Even us S.A.I. need to rest and recharge.”

“Maybe I could multi-home? For a little while? I don’t want to get my boss in trouble, he’s trusting me to keep my nose clean.”

The bartender chuckled, “You’re a good kid. Tell you what, why don’t you take a look at the apartment upstairs and save it to your favorites,” she turned to the crowd and raised her voice, “Izzi! Get over here!”

One of the waitresses finished serving a tray of drinks and hustled over to the bar, “What’s up, Yui?”

“Can you take our newest little bird up to the apartment upstairs so she can look around in case she needs a place to crash? Oh, and do you think you have something stashed up there that will fit her? She needs a change of clothes so she doesn’t look like she wandered into the wrong bar on accident.”

Izzy smiled at Rachel and looked her up and down appraisingly, “Yeah, I think I can put together something. Come on, sister, let’s see if we can turn you from a fashion not to a fashion hawt!”

Rachel giggled and followed along obediently. Diane pondered following her, but figured the girl would be back down soon enough, so she settled into a bar stool and leaned an elbow on the bar top. A minute later, a clack of a glass tumbler being set next to her elbow pulled her attention away from the music and she looked down in surprise to see some form of hard liquor over ice in the glass. She glanced around, wondering where the holo-character was who would have ordered the drink.

“Oh, that’s for you, hun,” came Yui’s voice from behind the bar. Diane turned in confusion to see the avatar looking straight at her.

“What the...?!” she leapt from the bar stool and reached for her weapon before remembering that she was in a holosuite and the payload would pass right through the avatar.

Yui smirked at Diane and said, “Boo.”

Read the rest on Scribble Hub and Patreon

[phantomss-pain]

Marlie rivalry Rock Band AU

So this a AU I thought about just a few days ago and I need to write it down in case if I do write something for it.

So in this AU Charlie starts up a band where she is the singer with her brother Sammy and her boyfriend John on Guitars, with her friend and Sammy’s girlfriend Jessica is on Bass and finally their friend Carlton is on Drums. The band is a very popular local band in the area and is well known in the area to be super fast pace with their songs and Charlie is a very talented vocalist.

However they have competition with another local band with a singer called Michael Afton who is just as skilled as Charlie. Often the two find themselves fighting in a battle of the band with them being the top two bands.

Michael is often super cocky and likes annoying Charlie who is often frustrated at him and his comments. Despite this Michael makes sure to not go too far with his remarks as he is secretly a fan of Charlie’s band.

Eventually Charlie’s band gets signed onto a major rock label with Michael’s band doing to the same on a different label which only carries on their rivalry.

While on tour Charlie’s and Michael’s band suffer from arguments inside the group. In Charlie’s band it’s just to do with her and John having relationship problems while in Michael’s the group is mostly against Michael and eventually Michael gets kicked out of the group half way on tour.

Hearing about Michael getting kicked out Charlie goes to Michael’s hotel room to check if he’s alright with what happened. This is the first time the two actually open up to each and drop the act of being rivals. However unknown to them John is watching them and his jealousy flairs up and he leaves the band breaking up with Charlie in the process.

Obviously this is a shock to the band so they take a few months off of tour and to let Charlie heal from the heart break she just went through. While this is happening Michael gets closer to the other band members and eventually he tries out for the band to fill in John’s place which the band finds out he was way more talented than John ever was.

After this the group begin working on their second album with Michael and Charlie being the main writers for the songs and it eventually leads to them getting feelings for each other. The two obviously try to bury these feelings down but on tour those get harder and harder to ignore.

Michael vents about his attraction to the lead singer with Carlton and their manager Marla while Charlie vents about it to Sammy and Jessica. The four friends say for the two to get together but they ignore them for their reasoning saying that they don’t want to mess up the band and everything.

When the second album’s tour is done the band takes a break but Michael and Charlie still work on writing songs in their spare time.

While writing the two write about songs about each other so when it gets time for the third album Michael takes a risk and asks Charlie out for a date who accepts.

The two open up even more to each other with Charlie talking about her relationship with John and her bad habits while Michael talks about his whole family life.

The two go back to Michael’s house and have sex which leads to them officially becoming partners. The third album gets reworked to be a concept album about the two’s relationship which becomes their best selling album.

So yeah this is basically just a rivals to friends to lovers story in a rock band au format lol

[synergysilhouette]

An alternate take on "Raya and the Last Dragon" (2021)

I think the movie was good in concept, but the execution had me wanting more.

Take inspiration from different SEA countries for the 5 parts of Kumandra, but if you want to include more SEA inspiration, perhaps have certain cities between the countries that have a lot of cultural diversity, with Raya's home in Heart being one of those cities. Maybe Heart is Vietnam, Fang is Indonesia (with Malaysian and Bruneian influences; and since Raya is a Malay word, it would be a cool way of showing a connection between Heart and Fang), Spine is Myanmar, Talon is Thailand (with Cambodian and Laotian influences), and Tail is the Philippines. I'd probably also incorporate Fang's orange color into their fashion rather than the creme color--or just make red their color instead. And maybe make Spine's color blue and Heart's color an emerald green in order to differentiate them from each other more; I thought of making Heart the one with blue colors as an indication of Raya and Sisu's bond, but I felt like it was too much Main Character Syndrome, so I wanted to let other lands be special too. It's also noted that each land used their gem piece differently; Fang's cleverness allowed them to become culturally advanced (which includes their modern fashion/hairstyles after the time skip), Spine used it to gain strength to protect themselves and eventually conquer the other lands, Talon used it to boost their economy, becoming the source for many materials and products hard to come by in Kumandra; and Tail has developed immunity to harsh conditions, evolving their mercenary skills. Heart is the only one who's stayed more or less the same since they haven't really used the gem, fueling animosity towards them.

2. Focus on one large city. I may be alone, but I'm not big on "travel stories" because you're only in each land for 10-15 minutes and you don't get to fully explore it. Having the film take place in a major city with all the leaders (and their gem pieces) together would allow you to flesh out the world and cultures a bit more without losing focus or rashly characterizing each land. It'd also allow us to know more about the chief leaders.

3. Show Namaari's dedication to Fang being out of love rather than seemingly out of selfishness. At the beginning of the film, very few people can sympathize with Namaari for her betrayal, and giving her more development would be great.

4. Make Raya more stoic and contemplative. If I recall correctly, they gave her swagger later on in development, and I feel like it undermines the trauma and distrust she has, especially since it feels like she doesn't express full anger with Namaari until after Sisu's death.

5. Villain/Curropted Namaari. I like the idea that Namaari serves as an Azula-type villain who's much sneakier and manipulative. It's only when her mother is turned to stone halfway through the movie that she realizes she isn't ready to lead and questions the decisions made around her, particularly because the last dragon is following Raya. She doesn't immediately become a BFF to Raya; she now becomes a neutral figure, protecting Fang but not necessarily harming other lands, observing and following Raya to see if her cause is just and if she has a solution that will not ruin Namaari's empire in order to restore peace (I love her concept art--except for the bionic arm; too sci-fi/western vibes).

6. Keep it serious and dark, with minimal comedy. The original film doesn't really feel as serious as it should be because Sisu and other characters are too humorous. Along with this, make Sisu more wise and sage-like, even if she's the youngest of her siblings.

7. Make it a musical; either the characters themselves would sing, or SEA singers could sing to represent the characters' thought process, kind of like if you used "The Gift" soundtrack for "The Lion King." (Edit: I made a fanmade song list for this!)

8. Give Sisu a more mystical design. Her concept art had the right idea--more of a naga-like appearance as most SEA countries have been Indianized rather than Sinicized like Vietnam (which I've heard was the inspiration behind Sisu's finished design). I'd also make her more of a mother figure to Raya given that her own mother isn't alive--or maybe she is; maybe she's from another tribe and left Benja when she realized he wasn't from the same land as her, abandoning Raya and seeing her as a mistake.

9. Raya's aids--Since Raya isn't leaving Heart and the entire village isn't turned to stone, I like the idea that she builds camaraderie with two members who serve her. There's Cadeo, an intellectual who's much more even-tempered than Tong and Buon, and Hoa, a young woman who's optimistic and hopeful, a stark contrast to the sobered perspectives of Namaari and Raya. Given the story relies on Raya's cooperation with people of other Kumandran lands, Cadeo and Hoa are moreso supporting characters, but are still frequently present in the story to give Raya support.

Referring to #1, I wanted to provide a visual aid for the inspiration for the characters (since I can't draw):

I've seen GORGEOUS art of the timeline of Vietnamese fashion by lilsuika on deviantart. I'm unsure if I'd want to take from post or pre-Sinicized Vietnam, though. Post-Sinicized Vietnam feels like it'd be the most familiar for the audience and kinda imply that self-righteous image the other tribes have for Heart (given how they're dressed like they run an empire), but Pre-S Vietnam flows better with the tribal culture of Kumandra.

For Namaari, I was inspired by Shinonon's Heavenly Smile's art on Instagram of a Central Javanese woman, as well as modern Indonesian fashion I saw on Pinterest. Just add Namaari's haircut and make the fashion orange.

For Tong, I like the idea that his design is an ode to Shan Yu, as well as being a bit more proportionate (his upper body is bigger than his lower body and feels almost cartoon-y; no offense to people built like that IRL). I also see John Gyi on ArtStation's art of a Burmese warrior as inspriation (albeit red instead of blue).

For Boun, I took inspiration from the Mandaya tribe of the Philippines from Jme Faronda's art (albeit I'd make it yellow). IDK if Tail--or any of the other Kumandran lands--would represent one IRL tribe or ethnic group within their respective countries, though.

IDK if kids Noi's age dressed like this in medieval Thailand, but I took inspo from traditional Thai clothing. Take your pick (and make it purple).

Bonus: Some people have criticized East Asian actors playing SEA roles. I personally don't fully understand, but as an alternate, I suggest Michelle Yeoh (Virana), Brenda Song (Namaari), Ali Wong (Sisu), Mark-Paul Gosselaar (Benja) and Francois Chau or Dave Bautista (Tong). These are just a few examples, since I don't know many SEA actors off the top of my head.

[quillkiller]

would you spare some regulily Jennifer’s body au of your own? :)

im guessing you mean some thoughts i have about the regulily/jennifers body au !!

so obviously it’s based on the film!! this all started with when i got an anon about cheerleader reg and marching band lily !! and since then it has spiraled <3 it’s lesbian regulily (<- my personal go-to) and im thinking reg and lily are already close friends like needy and jennifer !!

i see them going to see a band just like in the film. its lilys favorite band and reg takes her and decides then and there that she’ll sleep with the lead singer only to ruin the band for lily forever ..

reg gets turned into a monster girl in the same way basically as in the film !!

lilys boyfriend is james.. they’re a good stable and boring couple. everything is always as it should be between them. good girl lily evans and her stable boyfriend james. high school sweethearts and all that

i don’t think lily would be the unpopular girl in this au like needy is in the film !! she’s not necessarily the popular girl either but she’s simply the girl next door. everyone likes her, boys are drawn to her, teachers favorite, the very object of regs desires even before he become a man-eating monster

and same with reg!! he wouldn’t really be the popular girl like jennifer is !! he’s sort of popular because hes a cheerleader and he has an in with the popular girls. but he’s a loner at heart and he’s mostly faking it with his cheerleader pals. also he/him nonbinary lesbian regulus as per usual. he wears the ’male’ cheerleader costume but he’s also so very pretty. everyone wants him but no one knows him

so in this au i would spin it so that the boys he kills are the ones pining after lily…. and james is the last one to go <3

i would also spin it so that lily isn’t scared of reg like needy is of jennifer in the film. i think lily would TRY to be scared of reg. she should be HORRIFIED. but she just… isn’t.. it satisifes something dark and buried inside her. it even makes her desperately jealous that reg is ’seducing’ all these boys before she knows what’s really going on. and honestly, even then she’s still jealous

lily tries to tell herself she has to do the right thing just like needy. tries to tell herself she needs to stop him. and then i see this sort of breaking point where lily just.. realises she doesn’t care. thinks it’s insaney hot even. feels very special that reg would kill for her. feels at home in the morally corrupt instead of the heavy guilt and exhaustion of being on a pedestal. she’s been faking her whole life up to the point where she didn’t even realise she had been faking… it’s sort of like she Wakes Up

then there’s the make out scene…. which we’ve discussed… which i see going literally exactly like in the film….. yummers

so instead of reg killing james, like jennifer killing whatever his name is, i see maybe reg and lily killing him together <3

OR i see this as the very moment where everything clicks for lily but reg has already gotten away…… and what if there was a cat-and-mouse sequel au…. where lily is either locked up like needy, or has to go on a mission to find regulus again……

LIKE. I USED TO BE NORMAL. THE IMPLICATIONS. THE PARALLELLS. THE ONLY THING LILY EVER TRIED TO BE AND THEN HER ENTIRE CONCEPT OF HER OWN REALITY IS JUST SHREDDED …. could be so very interesting……

also bonus:

regulus. youngest sibling. the youngest sibling is always left hungry and wanting and now he’s cursed to literally always be hungry and wanting. the fall from grace….. his desire becoming SO literal….

the monster girl trope being a metaphor for girlhood and comp het and puberty (<— and yes i do obviously include trans women in that)…. becoming something so ugly and repulsive to other people and there’s nothing to DO about it. all you can do is go through it against your will.. desiring your girl best friend, in a small secluded town, and feeling monstrous and alone and guilty.. your body is changing and you cant keep up…. RRRRAAAAA the inherent female experience of feeling disgusting for having a body

…. i think about them a lot

[sakamotoiv]

   #forthestreets AKA kenzo sakamoto iv

NICKNAMES: kenny. in fact don't call him ANYTHING else.

AGE: 26

DOB: november 9th

GENDER: cismale

PRONOUNS: he/him

INSPO:  art donaldson (challengers), john wick, hae sung (past lives)

Kenny isn't very talkative or boisterous. But don't let that fool you, this horndog is always looking for his next paramour. He'll give you a smolder. He'll mundane his way into your pants if you let him. Don't let him...he's a much better friend than lover.

A LITTLE BIO

Kenny was never going to be the golden boy his father wanted. Even so, there was a brief period when they both believed that could happen. Born Kenzo Sakamoto, Kenny grew up in the lap of art and culture. He read comic books on bespoke rugs and ate caviar with his juicy juice. He was never a kid. Not really, anyway. He was Kenzo Sakamoto IV. He was the great-grandchild of one of the American Union's finest architects. He was the grandchild of a notoriously terrible jazz singer. Most importantly, he was the son of one of New Zeppelin’s most sought-after event planners. In a way…his destiny had to be preordained. Every great Kenzo was destined to raise a royal fuck-up.

Kenny’s downfall wasn’t immediately noticeable. He was a nice enough kid. He dressed up when his parents wanted. He had perfectly squeezable cheeks. He learned to smile on cue. He never asked for more than he needed. His only friends were his schoolwork, his stuffed animals, and his mother. Kenzo III thought he’d done it. Through discipline and attentiveness, he’d outsmarted the Sakamoto curse. Then Kenny went through puberty.

Kenny probably had 20 girlfriends throughout his high school experience. Romance…and the subsequent sexual activity that often followed…became the first concept that genuinely interested him. He realized that everyone around him had some kind of sexual or romantic desire…and most people would never act on those. He saw the way his dad looked at other women. He saw the way his mother longed after telenovela leads on television. He watched how the school secretary eyed the vice principal whenever he spoke. Everyone was horny. Everyone was longing. It became a game to him. How many hearts could he steal? How long would it take for him to love someone as much as they loved him. Was it even possible? His dad always had something negative to say about his relationships. It was the first thing he could actually criticize his son on. Kenny knew that his dad was a cheater at this point…so those critiques fell on empty ears. 

His parents finalized their divorce the same day Kenny graduated from high school. Instead of celebrating his accomplishments (if you could even call it that), everyone spent his graduation party asking if he was okay. The classic “what’s next?” question wasn’t about what career he would pursue. The undertone of the question was more existential. “Who Are You People If You Aren’t The Sakamotos?”

Kenny’s mom moved to the other side of the American Union to find her answer. He still hasn’t heard much from her or her new life. Kenny’s dad remarried…rather quickly actually. It must have been easy with his roster. Kenny discovered modeling. Well...he ate out the head of a modeling agency. In return, she set him up with some headshots and a couple of runways to walk. He fell in love with the pace. He loved watching designers agonize over what to put on his body. They looked at clothing the way people looked at him. An object of adoration. A source of pleasure. He was never passionate about art...but being a vessel for someone else’s passion? He adored it. 

His dad’s critical nature reared its ugly head once more. He would respect Kenny as a designer or event curator…but as a model? It was small potatoes. For the first time since the divorce, Kenny and his Father spent every family dinner in some kind of argument. Elaine (Kenny’s new stepmother) tried her best to keep the peace…but she was out of her depth. How could she compete with generations of toxicity…replaying in front of her eyes? Kenny eventually moved out of the Sakamoto residence...and into a highrise in the center of the Diamond District.

Elaine would often visit Kenny and bring baked goods or publications she found his photos in. They became…friends? Kenny would never see her as a mother. After all…she was only 10 years older than him. But she was a friend. She was the only one who understood what it was like to love and hate a Sakamoto. That friendship never blossomed into love…but it only took one stormy night and three bottles of prosecco for it to evolve into lust. Elaine stayed at Kenny’s apartment for three days. Kenzo III had damn near reported his wife as missing before he caught them in the act.

Kenzo III disowned his son almost immediately. He made sure Kenny was blacklisted from any modeling agencies that wanted to work with him. He spread rumors and pulled plugs. Most importantly he cut Kenny off financially.  Kenny was luckily enough to have some connections at Port Manteau and the rest was history. He'll tell the story heartily if you ask...he likes to think of it as his Grecian drama origin story.

[radar-chaos]

You know- Looking at Mesmerizer (32Ki), I've begun to start thinking about the theories regarding it.

GIGANTIC TRIGGER WARNING FOR DEPRESSION AND S__C_DE

I know. I'm- what? Months late to this party? Lol

My favorite theory about the song is one I saw that referred to the "shrinking safety zone" as happiness in life, the fake flowers dressed in "honesty" being little comforts to you from yourself or from others, and the pounding heart and vulnerability (Miku) / fading durability and cries for help of all kinds (Teto) leading to one verdict.

Depression. (Or possibly BPD but I ammmmmm *not* equipped to discuss that in any format at this time.)

I absolutely adore this theory, not only because it's the one that's most plausible to me, but also the theory that I can understand the most.

Teto using all these different symbols in the hopes that someone will notice her pain, but only ever crying out verbally once, after which she is almost hypnotized, which appears to be the thing she *doesn't* want. Her obvious cry is met with a negative reaction, so she returns to her subtler signs, hoping that one of the languages is seen and not just noticed. All for that effort to be for nothing in the end when she is left "hypnotized" as well.

Meanwhile, Miku falling victim to this "hypnosis" and repeating her lines from the chorus, continuing her choreography when it's Teto's turn and moving like a puppet or a corpse. Her tongue hangs out of her mouth. her eyes are dead, and her neck thin and fragile. Like she f@cking hung herself.

To me, it kinda feels like the everyday, "bot-like cycle" of feeling horrible but consistently acting like everything is fine. Pressing down, pressing down, and repressing everything until suddenly that little tridecagram starts to look more and more appealing.

To my knowledge, this star represents immortality (please correct me if I'm mistaken), but in this case, I think that, while immortality fits, in reference to the afterlife and not immortality as a solo concept. And how does one get to the afterlife? By dying.

This star (to me) represents s_!c!de. Sitting there in the center of the screen for almost 2/3 of the song while *neither* singer mentions or even looks at it. But in a way, it always seems to be there, whether in that spot, or hidden at the edges of the screen, or even covering up all the subliminal messages at the beginning and on those intense percussive spots throughout the song. It's the unspoken elephant in the room.

All while this upbeat, happy song plays with confetti and flowers and dancing clouds. This walking contradiction of a song is *horrifying*, and by the gods do I know exactly what it feels like. This may not be a nostalgic classic like Love is War (Viva la Teto's Crusher Ver.) or Double Lariat or even Tokyo Teddy Bear, but in my mind, it sits on the same shelves and playlists for that exact reason. That it *fits* in that spot in my mind.

P.S. Is no one gonna talk about how that beat drop in the final chorus sounds like a gunshot?

[pjsk-writin]

Hi there! I was wondering if you could do a Poly!VBS with a M!reader ftm (or nb ftm) who has his own sekai? I imagine his Sekai being quite chaotic and inspired in bacterial contamination. The Sekai is chaotic due to the confusion that the reader feels regarding himself. Identity, sexuality, life choises and etc. I feel like his belongings would be scattered around the sekai while floating. The only place that's more collected is a greenhouse with multiple flowers. The vocaloids are, again, inspired in bacterial contamination (I know we only have Bacterial Contamination Miku's design, but I'd like to see your own ideas for what a concept of the other vocaloids in that scenario would look like!). Basically, what I'm saying is, VBS's reaction to seeing their s/o (ftm, can be nb or male) with a very messed up and chaotic Sekai!

I hope you're having a very nice day! I hope you take care! (Also, could you make Akito a ftm as well? Idk why but, ftm Akito just speaks to me-)

OOOOOO this is such a cool concept, I GOT SO CARRIED AWAY but I love writing unsettling chaos.. i hope you have a good day and i hope you like this!! <3

◇ CHAOS SEKAI - Poly VBS x Reader

The four of them had been so content with their Sekai that they hadn't even thought of the possibility that someone else would have one, let alone you

So, when they find the Untitled track on your phone, it's just shock and curiosity that leads them to play it

They're even more shocked by the state of your Sekai. What the hell was going on in there?

The Miku of your Sekai was far different from the Miku in theirs. The same applied to the rest of the Virtual Singers, each of them in different states of disarray

In the middle of the chaos stood you. You had been shocked to see all four of them there, nobody you knew had ever been there before after all. You wanted to hide it, but could you really hide such chaos?

"What's going on here?-" Kohane’s voice seemed lost in...What noise? Nobody knew, but everything felt weird. Being there felt weird, flashes of emotions flying through the air

"Hey babe!" An yelled out to you, making her way towards you despite the way the air became almost suffocating. "Uh...Are you okay?" You did not answer her in the moment.

"...This place doesn't feel good." Toya had mumbled to himself, simply observing the floating objects around. He noted that they were your belongings, and he spotted something green in the distance. What could it be?...

"Yeah, you can say that again." Akito was close enough to hear Toya's mumbling, but he had froze as an awfully familiar feeling washed over him, except it was not his own. He narrowed his eyes, walking toward you to join An. "This place is a combination of feelings, your feelings, right? I know what this feeling is at least...What's wrong?"

Then, you cracked, and the environment seemed to react to your emotions as bits and pieces became even more messed up. Kohane and Toya were quick to abandon their observations to join you and the other two

Surprisingly, Akito is the one who leads the conversation. "Listen, this...Insecurity, this confusion in who you are is something that I know all too well. I promise you, it's easier to talk it out."

The other three would nod in agreement, "Yeah, we're here for you!" "We always will be!..." Toya takes your hand, squeezing it gently. It's his silent reassurance for you.

And so, you do. You talk about all of your confusion, all of the things that have plagued your mind for so long. The world seems to shift and change around you, but you don't notice as you spill your guts out

The four are all silent, but you can tell that they're listening with as much attention as they can. When you're finally done, there are no words spoken, only the warmest group hug they can give you.

They each assure you that they're not going anywhere, and that they're willing to help you with everything. What is VBS without their beloved, after all?

And despite everything, despite all of the chaos in your head, you're allowed to take solace in the four people around you

And for once, your Sekai had gone quiet.

[astrophysicist-guitar-god]

After the cut, the Rolling Stone article that elicited a response from Roger, written on an airline motion-sickness bag.

Queen Holds Court in South America: On the road with rock's royal spectacle (x)

James Henke, June 11, 1981. Buenos Aires, Argentina

We are the champions – my friends And we’ll keep on fighting – till the end – We are the champions – We are the champions, No time for losers cause we are the champions – of the world – —Freddie Mercury, “We Are the Champions”*

It was to be the Big Event. Queen, coming off its most successful year ever, was setting out to conquer South America and wanted to make sure the whole world knew about it.

That, certainly, was no surprise. After all, this was the band that had made a career out of creating spectacles. A couple of years ago, for example, when they were launching a U.S. tour in support of their Jazz album, Queen threw a bash in New Orleans that featured snake charmers, strippers, transvestites and a naked fat lady who smoked cigarettes in her crotch.

The real surprise was that Queen – a group with a history of hostility toward the press – had agreed to do interviews and had invited journalists from the U.S., England, Spain, France and other countries to come along for the first shows.

So here I am at Ezeiza airport, outside Buenos Aires. The place looks like a military installation. Young, peach-fuzz-faced boys who can’t be more than sixteen or seventeen are stationed along the concourse that leads through customs into the baggage-claim area. They’re all in uniform: big black leather shit-kicking boots that reach halfway up the calves of their legs, and regulation tan pants, shirts and helmets. And they’re all armed with submachine guns.

In Argentina, the military – and terror – reigns supreme. According to Amnesty International, about 15,000 people have “disappeared” since 1976, when Juan Perón’s second wife and successor, Isabel, was thrown from power in a coup d’état. Since then, a guerrilla war has been waging between the dictatorship and opposition groups, mainly Perónists, and citizens have routinely been plucked off the streets or out of their homes, taken to secret detention camps and systematically brutalized. But as VS. Naipaul writes in his book The Return of Eva Perón, “Style is important in Argentina; and in the long-running guerrilla war – in spite of the real blood, the real torture – there has always been an element of machismo and public theatre.”

Editor’s picks

Amid the hubbub at customs, I notice a middle-aged man in gray – gray suit, gray tie, gray hair – making his way through the crowd, shouting something in Spanish. The only word I understand is Queen, and sure enough, he’s looking for us. He takes our passports, whisks us past the inspectors without so much as one bag being opened, and leads us upstairs to the bar for an early morning cerveza. He speaks little English, but there are two words he knows quite well. No matter what anyone asks for, his response is the same: “No problem.”

Maybe this won’t be so bad after all.

By the afternoon of day two, none of the writers has yet been introduced to any of the band members. We while away the time in the hotel bar, but in this country, where the annual inflation rate is around 100 percent, a bottle of beer costs the equivalent of twelve dollars, keeping us sober against our wills. Finally, Jim Beach, Queen’s business adviser, allows a few of us to attend the sound check at Velez Sarfield.

The Argentines have a rather nifty concept of crowd control, as I find out when I reach the stadium: a moat, about six feet wide and three feet deep, runs around the perimeter of the field and is filled with foul-smelling water and patrolled by dragonflies. Queen has brought its own artificial turf so that the promoters will allow people onto the field.

Up onstage, Queen – lead singer Freddie Mercury, guitarist Brian May, bassist John Deacon and drummer Roger Taylor – is rehearsing “Rock It (Prime Jive),” a track off The Game. And it sounds simply awful. The acoustics are horrendous in the 3500-seat stadium: there’s a thirty-second delay as the music drifts across the length of the field and reverberates off the scoreboard. Nor does the band’s musicianship seem inspired. The rhythm section is sloppy and sluggish; May’s guitar playing is limited to heavy-metal/hard-rock clichés and patented, though by now boring, harmonic lead breaks; Mercury’s singing is lackadaisical and without conviction.

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“They’re not even up to the par of some third-rate New Jersey bar band,” another writer comments to me, and indeed, I’m somewhat mystified about what it is that makes this group so popular.

When I return to Velez Sarfield that evening for the show, the stadium is swarming with kids – and cops. These are crusty, corpulent tough guys – not the boot-camp boys I saw at the airport. And it doesn’t take long to find out that they mean business. When one American writer snaps a photo of the twenty-odd billy-club-wielding policemen who are cordoning off the backstage area, he’s pinned against a government-owned Falcon and threatened at knife point with the loss of a finger until he yields his film. “No problem.” Sure.

“Un supergrupo numero uno,” the emcee anounces as the lights dim, and with a burst of smoke, Queen appears onstage and begins hammering out its anthem, “We Will Rock You.” Mercury – dressed in a white, sleeveless Superman T-shirt, red vinyl pants and a black vinyl jacket – frequently stops singing and dares the audience to carry the weight. And carry the weight they do: the fans seem to know all the lyrics throughout the 110-minute show – which, if for no. other reason, is impressive for the number of hits the group is able to offer up, such as “Keep Yourself Alive,” “Killer Queen,” “Bohemian Rhapsody,” “Fat Bottomed Girls” and “Bicycle Race.”

Though the band-audience interaction is remarkable, the crowd responds with such unquestioning devotion I get the feeling that if Freddie Mercury told them to shave their heads, they’d do it.

The musicianship still seems pedestrian, but what the group lacks in ability, it makes up for – at least to the fans’ satisfaction – in gimmickry. Smoke shrouds the stage at regular intervals; flash pots illuminate the audience at key moments and end the set. Compared to Kiss‘ fire-breathing antics, Queen’s use of special effects is in relative good taste, and after all, a Queen show is supposed to be a spectacle.

For the encore, the band reprises “We Will Rock You,” then bounds into “We Are the Champions.” Mercury, by this time wearing only a pair of black leather short shorts and a matching leather policeman’s hat, struts around the stage like some hybrid of Robert Plant and Peter Allen, climactically kicking over a speaker cabinet and bashing it with his microphone stand. Pretty ridiculous in this day and age, but the kids love it.

Indeed, Queen may be the first truly fascist rock band. The whole thing makes me wonder why anyone would indulge these creeps and their polluting ideas. —Dave Marsh in Rolling Stone

What do I think about critics? I think they’re a bunch of shits. —Freddie Mercury

Queen’s relationship with the music press has been about as cordial as the secret police’s relationship with the Argentine public. Even so, the band hasn’t exactly suffered from the continual pans of its records and shows: eight of its ten LPs have been certified gold (the exceptions are the Flash Gordon soundtrack and Queen II), and its last three studio efforts – News of the World, Jazz and The Game – have gone well over the million mark in sales.

“I have some very strong views of some of the things the press do, such as The Rolling Stone Record Guide,” Roger Taylor says, looking out his hotel-room window. It’s day four, and the long-promised interviews have finally been arranged. “Now, I’ve never read the book, but I saw an ad, and I thought, ‘What the fuck is someone doing bringing out a book like this? Who the hell are they to say what albums are good and what albums are bad?’ I think it’s entirely a personal choice.” (For the record, Queen didn’t fare too well in the book; four of the seven albums reviewed were awarded two stars, a designation that means “records that are artistically insubstantial, though not truly wretched.”)

The shots at Queen have not been fired by just the press, however. When the punks came to fame in England in the late Seventies, Queen was one of the groups most often singled out for attack. Taylor and John Deacon, the two band members who seem most attentive to musical trends, apparently feel some of the criticism was justified. “It gave us a kick up the ass,” Taylor says. “It was so angry, so different, so outrageous. We were recording News of the World in the same studio the Sex Pistols were recording their first album in. I mean, the first time I ever saw John Rotten, I was really shocked, cause I had never actually seen the whole thing in person. He sort of crystallized the whole punk attitude, and there’s no doubt about it, the guy had amazing charisma.”

If the band’s pomp-and-circumstance delivery has recently fallen into disfavor among the rough-and-ready New Wavers, it wasn’t really in vogue either when Queen inaugurated its grandiose stage presentation in the early Seventies. “That was the time of the supergroups, like Cream and Traffic,” Brian May explains, “and it was more the thing to get into your music and not worry about the audience. Then, for a period, it became very cool to do a show. Now, the wheel has turned again. But we just think that kind of show is part of being professional. People are giving you two hours of their time, so you have to give them everything for those two hours. We want every person to go away feeling he got his money’s worth, and we use every possible device to achieve that.”

From the beginning, Queen wanted to put on a show that would be different. “We had a joke that we wanted to be the biggest,” Taylor says. “It was a joke, but underneath, it really was true. Number one is much better than number two. And we’re still working at it.”

To accomplish this goal, Queen opted for an unusual route. Rather than work their butts off playing the club circuit – something Taylor and May had done without much success in a band called Smile – they chose to spend two years rehearsing while they were still in school. May nearly completed a Ph.D. in astronomy; Taylor has a degree in biology; Deacon, one in electronics; and Mercury, a diploma in illustration and design.

Mercury and Taylor supported the band by selling artwork at a stall in Kensington Market, and it wasn’t until 1973 that Queen released its first album and had enough money – thanks to record-company support – to take the kind of show they wanted to do on the road. The LP, titled Queen, gave the band its first hit single, “Keep Yourself Alive,” and set the stage for what was to come. As Roger Taylor says, “It’s been quite a fairy tale.”

I just hate this,” Freddie Mercury says, “especially when that thing’s on.” He points to my tape recorder, sits down across from me and lights up a Salem. “There came a point where I was misquoted all the time,” he continues, “and they had the piece written before they even started. I’m not afraid of criticism – I don’t want to come across as Goody Two Shoes all the time – but it’s been purely vindictive.” A deal’s a deal, however, and Mercury, obviously under some pressure from the other band members and their record company, had agreed to an interview. “So here I am with Rolling Stone,” he moans. “It’s like being forced to talk.”

Up close, Mercury is more petite than he looks onstage: he stands only a fraction of an inch under five feet ten and is relatively slender. His short-cropped hair and mustache are jet black, and his eyes are a piercing dark brown. In addition to being the group’s lead singer and one of its main songwriters, Mercury is also most responsible for Queen’s image. He’s known for his flamboyance and debauchery both onstage and off: at a birthday party a couple of years ago, for example, he swung naked from a chandelier, and on one of the band’s Japanese tours, bored with the tedium of playing night after night, he appeared onstage with a bunch of bananas atop his head.

“The Carmen Miranda of rock & roll,” he says, chuckling. “But what can I say? I’m a flamboyant personality. I like going out and having a good time. I’m just being me. The media pick up on certain things, and a lot of things get overexaggerated. I’m quite easy to get on with, really. I can be a real bitch at times, but that’s okay. I’m not that vicious. I use my influence. Why not? I’m not afraid to flaunt it.”

Thirty-four years old, Mercury was born Frederick Bulsara in what was then Zanzibar. His father was a British civil servant, and Freddie left home when he was seven to attend boarding school, first in India, then in England. “You learn to fend for yourself at an early age. I was quite rebellious, and my parents hated it. I grew out of living at home at an early age. But I just wanted the best. I wanted to be my own boss.”

Shifting around in his seat, Mercury tugs at his upper lip and reaches for his pack of Salems. “For a nonsmoker,” he jokes, “I smoke far too much.” He tells me he’s just purchased a house in London’s Kensington Park, complete with eight bedrooms and a massive studio with pillars and a gallery. “I can have minstrels play there,” he says with a laugh. “Very la-di-da, don’t you think?”

He’s having the mansion remodeled, which gave him cause recently to go on one of his celebrated shopping sprees. Just before their South American jaunt, Queen played five shows at the Budokan in Tokyo, and the promoter’s wife, a good friend of Freddie’s, arranged an excursion for the singer and his entourage through the largest department store. “I felt like Grace Kelly,” he recalls. “I got this huge Japanese bed, a lot of lacquer things and really nice hundred-year-old stuff. I think I spent a fortune, but I don’t know. The credit card pays for it.

“I like buying things on crazy impulses,” he continues. “I hate buying for investment. But I do like a lot of Oriental stuff; it’s intricate and delicate. I also like the cultural part of it, the way they do their gardens; they put a lot of thought into it. But I’m not into all the meditation crap, or those boring tea ceremonies. The raw fish, as well.”

Early on in his career, Mercury seemed bent on incorporating his interest in different cultures and art forms into Queen’s stage shows and music. “Mustapha,” off the Jazz album, was a miserable attempt at Arabic music, and at one point, Mercury told the British press he was “bringing ballet to the masses.”

“I went through this period where I thought I was making an impact on the fashion world,” he says, “then I thought, ‘Oh, grow up.’ And now, you see, I don’t take all this too seriously – I mean, I couldn’t be serious with the things I wear onstage. I have far more fun, and I enjoy it. It’s a great release. That’s what entertainment should be.”

He feels likewise about the band’s music. “It’s just pure escapism. It’s like going to see a film. People should just escape for a while, then they can go back to their problems. That’s the way all songs should be: you listen to them, then discard them like a used tampon. I don’t have any messages I’m trying to get across or anything.”

The forty-five minutes of interview time I’ve been allocated are rapidly drawing to a close, and publicist Howard Bloom knocks on the hotel-room door and tells us to wind things up. Mercury lights one last Salem. “You see,” he says, “you can tell I’m not very good at this. To be honest, I really don’t think I have much to say.”

A couple of years ago, Roger Taylor was doing about 145 miles an hour in his Ferrari on an alpine road in Germany when suddenly one of the chains went, the cooling system died and the car caught on fire. He managed to extinguish the flames just in time – there were about fifteen gallons of gas onboard. “Burned all my clothes to a cinder,” he recalls. “Another minute and it would have hit the tank and that would have been it. I would have been vaporized completely.”

Since then, Taylor hasn’t been quite as enamored of fast cars, but he still relishes the kind of lifestyle rock & roll has afforded him. In that sense, he’s probably closer in personality to Freddie Mercury than the other two band members. “Ah, yes,” he says when I bring up Queen’s rather decadent image. “I like that sort of thing. I like strip clubs and strippers and wild parties with naked women. Sounds wonderful. I’d love to own a whorehouse. Really, seriously. What a wonderful way to make a living.”

“Roger is very much in the tradition of the successful rock & roll musician,” John Deacon explains. “He wants the things that go with it, and it is what he really wanted to be. I’m sort of the opposite of that. It was never my burning ambition to be in a successful band. It has helped my confidence a bit, but it’s different things for different people. And we are four very different people.”

Offstage, while Taylor and Mercury are out carousing, Deacon frequently spends time with his wife and three kids. Though he may seem out of place in the flashy world of Queen, Deacon is actually the band’s stabilizing presence. He oversees much of the group’s business matters – Queen does not have an official manager; instead, it employs a coterie of advisers who leave final decisions to the band.

The disco hit “Another One Bites the Dust” is Deacon’s creation. “I’m the only one in the group, really, who likes American black music,” he tells me. “And with The Game, it was Freddie’s idea that instead of arguing over which songs to put on the album, we’d split it up: Freddie and Brian would have three tracks apiece, and Roger and myself would have two. But we had arguments over whether “Bites the Dust” should be a single. In the end, it began attracting a lot of attention on black stations and in discos, so the record company wanted us to put it out. But it would never have been chosen as a single by the group as a whole.”

Given his low-key personality, I wonder how Deacon feels about the image conveyed by Mercury. His answer is blunt: “Some of us hate it,” he says. “But that’s him and you can’t stop it. Like he did an interview in one of the English national papers, and it was all like, ‘We’re dripping with money, darlin‘,’ or, ‘What’s a mortgage?‘ Brian, for one, just hated it.”

Like Deacon, Brian May is quiet and tends to keep to himself. He, too, has brought his wife and child along. When not touring, he’s an avid gardener – “I’ve been known to be out there looking for slugs at one o’clock in the morning,” he says – and he tries to keep up with astronomy by reading journals and talking with his former university colleagues.

“I think it’s essential that you have things that you get into apart from music,” he says. “You have to maintain your balance.”

May seems to care the most about the group’s audience, and he supervises the fan club. “I think people can listen to some of our stuff and actually get something out of it spiritually, if I may be so bold,” he says. “I enjoy the fact that a lot of people have written to us and said that a particular song helped them when they were in a difficult situation. That’s a great feeling.”

All in all, the Big Event was a success. The attendance was staggering: in Sao Paulo, Brazil, the group played in front of 131,000 people one night and 120,000 the next. The press had also been good: one American writer even mentioned Queen’s shows at Velez Sarfield in the same breath as the Beatles’ at Shea Stadium.

Though this tour seemed rather tame compared with previous Queen endeavors, that probably says more about South American governments than it does about the band. When the group’s advance men first arrived in Buenos Aires, for instance, their backstage passes were seized briefly by customs officials, who deemed them pornographic (they depicted two nude women embracing).

But basically, things went smoothly – not unlike some master plan. That concept was brought up again and again when I discussed Queen with some of its associates. “They want to conquer the world” was how one person put it. For a group of this stature, a group that presumably has made enough money to last a lifetime, Queen maintains a very busy work schedule. After the release of The Game last June, the band did a major U.S. tour, recorded Flash Gordon and played some more dates in Europe and Britain. Then came the Japanese shows, the South American trek and a solo LP from Roger Taylor. This June they plan to begin work on another studio album, but before that comes out sometime next year, they will release a greatest-hits package (which reportedly will vary from country to country, depending on what songs have been hits in those areas).

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Four years ago, in Queen’s last interview with Rolling Stone, Freddie Mercury said, “Our goal is to get to the top, obviously. We’re not there yet; nowhere near it. And I don’t want anybody to tell me I’m there either.” And the band still feels that way. When I asked them what they thought they’d be doing in five years, each member was convinced Queen would still be together, still reaching for something more. After all, you can’t conquer the world overnight.

This story is from the June 11th, 1981 issue of Rolling Stone.